


Salt

by Harmony



Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-30
Updated: 2013-01-30
Packaged: 2017-11-27 11:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/661656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harmony/pseuds/Harmony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was enough for him to drown in Kira’s scent, to envision the taste of a rare hint of saltiness, as if there were streaks left by tears or sweat there masked by droplets of rain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Salt

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet was a request from Ceestar, who gave me the prompt "salt". Spoilers for the end of the war with Aizen. This fic is kind of a homage to strong!Kira, because he's not a weak character at all. <3
> 
> Also posted at [my Livejournal](http://silverharmony.livejournal.com) :) Any feedback would be very much appreciated.

  
Seireitei was blanketed with a light rain and a pale grey sky when Shuuhei found him, standing alone before the tall gates to the Third Division.  
  
There was something about him, just standing there staring, that the dark-haired lieutenant couldn’t describe: eyes staring ahead with no discernible intent in them; droplets of rain upon his eyelashes, spilling down his hair; his small, thin hands bunching the fabric on the sides of his hakama. His entirety embodied something like silence, perhaps, a sense of solitude and quiet, even in the midst of the rhythmic pattering of the rain.  
  
‘… I’m alright.’  
  
Shuuhei almost started in surprise, and the blond turned his head slowly to look at him, a rare, delicate smile gracing his pale features. For a fleeting moment, the dark-haired lieutenant could picture that gentle expression as the reflection of the temperate pulses of his reiatsu, which he could feel swirling around him now, so close to him. And it was then, Shuuhei realized, that perhaps he had underestimated his colleague.  
  
‘You came to see how I was, right? Thank you, I’m alright,’ repeated Kira, and Shuuhei was still surprised at the peace and sureness that emanated from his voice. He gave a slight nod.  
  
‘Yeah,’ he answered, lowering his head slightly. ‘I can see that you are.’  
  
Everything, Shuuhei felt, was gradually flowing away in this moment; the grief, the traces of blood on his hands, the pain, the burdens of duty. This was his new reality: he was simply just standing together with Kira underneath the light drizzle of rain, side by side, and even though the sky was grey there was no sense of heaviness, of the crippling weight of the blade at his waist during the war – only the light stirring of their reiatsu mingling together, the soft beads of rain dripping onto their skin, and this silent solace of unquestioned companionship.  
  
‘Sometimes I still wonder where he’s gone,’ the blond uttered, suddenly.  
  
Shuuhei furrowed his brows at that. ‘You should see this as your division now, and your men,’ he answered. ‘He is no longer here.’  
  
Kira looked up at him in mild surprise.  
  
‘And … you know I can help you with anything you need,’ the dark-haired lieutenant continued, and he could feel a mild stirring from within his chest as he said the words. ‘I’m always here.’  
  
And in that moment, Kira’s eyes unexpectedly gleamed in a way that Shuuhei had not seen for a long time. It reminded him of the blond’s academy years, his youthful energy, of the days before he had grown his hair longer to shield his features, his eyes, his intentions.  
  
‘Thank you, Hisagi-san,’ he said tenderly. ‘And I’ll try not to talk about him in front of you again.’  
  
Shuuhei felt his face suddenly grow warm; there was an unusual firmness in the blond’s voice that almost sounded like he was saying that Shuuhei was jealous of the former Third Division captain. He frowned. ‘You don’t need to go that far. If anything is bothering you, you can talk to me about it.’  
  
‘It won’t bother me,’ the blond shook his head, and took a step towards Shuuhei. ‘The one here with me right now is you. The one I’m looking at right now … is you.’  
  
And maybe it was the heat he could feel growing in his face, or the light curtains of rain shielding them, that inspired him; but Shuuhei took a step forward too and slowly curled an arm around the blond’s shoulders, and leaned in and brushed his lips against Kira’s cheekbone. It was a mild touch, and scarcely anything of a kiss, but it was enough for him to drown in Kira’s scent, to envision the taste of a rare hint of saltiness, as if there were streaks left by tears or sweat there masked by droplets of rain. The blond smelled like warmth, like life, against him.  
  
They remained there warmly for a time, folded into each other, thoughts fixed upon nothing else; and underneath the blanket of rain, everything was washed away.  
  



End file.
